The British Empire and the Second World WarIn 1939 Hitler went to war not just with Great Britain; he also went to war with the whole of the British Empire, the greatest empire that there had ever been. In the years since 1945 that empire has disappeared, and the crucial fact that the British Empire fought together as a whole during the war has been forgotten. All the parts of the empire joined the struggle and were involved in it from the beginning, undergoing huge changes and sometimes suffering great losses as a result. The war in the desert, the defence of Malta and the Malayan campaign, and the contribution of the empire as a whole in terms of supplies, communications and troops, all reflect the strategic importance of Britain's imperial status. Men and women not only from Australia, New Zealand and India but from many parts of Africa and the Middle East all played their part. Winston Churchill saw the war throughout in imperial terms. The British Empire and the Second World War emphasises a central fact about the Second World War that is often forgotten. |
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... Borneo . Here the British had carved out the colony of British North Borneo and put down commercial roots , and the island of Labuan had been acquired on behalf of the navy . The sultanate of Brunei entered into protected relations with ...
... Borneo . Eventually the commanding officer decided that his force's best contribution would be to try and escape to Java to rejoin any forces that might be resisting the Japanese there . They therefore split into two columns and ...
... Borneo . In the other direction , Hazel received no mail from anyone at home until September 1943 . The people of the territories of British Borneo , prisoner and native , endured three years of Japanese occupation . A small number of ...